Second-half surge carries No. 25 Auburn past Arkansas

Field Level Media|published: Sat 6th January, 16:35 2024

Jan 6, 2024; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Keyon Menifield Jr (1) celebrates after making a three point shot in the first half against the Auburn Tigers at Bud Walton Arena. credits: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Chad Baker-Mazara scored 16 points and No. 25 Auburn dominated Arkansas in the second half while trouncing the Razorbacks 83-51 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams at Fayetteville, Ark.

Johni Broome scored all 14 of his points in the second half as the Tigers (12-2, 1-0 SEC) won their seventh straight game. Auburn has won those games by an average of 25.1 points.

Tre Donaldson had 11 points and seven rebounds and Jaylin Williams also had 11 points as the Tigers delivered a 32-point beating that represents Arkansas' worst loss in 31 seasons of playing inside Bud Walton Arena.

Keyon Menifield Jr. scored 14 points for Arkansas (9-5, 0-1). Trevon Brazile had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, and Tramon Mark added 10 points for the Razorbacks.

Auburn used a 20-3 run bridging both halves to turn the game into a blowout. The Tigers outscored Arkansas 46-21 in the second half while beating Arkansas for just the sixth time in the past 20 meetings.

The Tigers connected on 48.6 percent of their shots and were 7 of 18 from 3-point range. Auburn had a 46-32 rebounding advantage.

The Razorbacks made just 31 percent of their attempts, including 7 of 24 from behind the arc.

Auburn asserted itself by scoring seven of the last eight points in the first half for a 37-30 lead, and then opening the second half with a 13-2 burst to lead by 18.

Baker-Mazara scored five points late in the first half to cap his 14-point flurry over the opening 20 minutes.

Williams began the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer. A short time later, Broome scored eight points during a 10-0 burst to give the Tigers a 50-32 lead with 13:57 remaining.

Auburn continued to control the flow, and the advantage reached 69-46 on a 3-pointer by Denver Jones with 6:52 remaining.

Earlier, Menifield's 3-pointer gave the Razorbacks an early 11-5 lead. Auburn countered with a 15-5 run to lead 20-16 after Aden Holloway's fast-break layup with 8:57 left in the half.

The game remained tight until Auburn began to pull away late in the half.

—Field Level Media

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